Photography and social media are foundational to Chicago-Born and New York-based painter Darryl Westly’s aesthetic language. Abstracting classical reference through hyperrealist representational forms, Westly distills numerous aspects of contemporary visual culture through his techniques and use of color, honed at both the Pratt Institute and Cooper Union, before he was recruited as a finishing painter at Jeff Koons’ studio. His work aims to highlight how our visual culture reflects both the past and present understandings of identity and its production in an increasingly online, image-saturated landscape.

Odalisque 1 is a prime example of Westly’s naturalist style, with his vibrant use of color and shape flattening the pictorial space, similar to a pixelated selfies on social media applications, and allowing contemporary references, such as the Hello Kitty doll in the background, to shine forward. Taking inspiration from Ingres’ La Grande Odalisque (1814), the illusory nature of the subject is flipped, with her gaze peering straight out of the canvas, the woman becomes the voyeur and the viewer encroaches as one sorts through the forms and textures abstracted by the vibrant, teals, cyans and rich blues—a contemplative drama on image production and self-concept. The artist will embellish and make each print unique by adding airbrushed floral elements.

Of the total net proceeds from sales of this print, 20% will benefit Art at a Time Like This and, as with all AFC initiatives, the artist receives 50%. 

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*Unframed prints ship within 1-3 weeks.
*Framed prints ship within 2-4 weeks.